[dropcap size=small]E[/dropcap]xceptional service is a rare commodity, which is why Saint Pierre’s team is superlative. I’d barely rested my knife and fork on my plate, before a sharply suited gentleman is beside me, asking in a French accent, “May I?” If not for the warm smiles and demeanour of the waiters, and the view of Marina Bay Sands lit up across the water, one might mistake this for a restaurant in Paris.

Saint Pierre’s cheese cart features a range of fine European cheeses.

Saint Pierre’s je ne sais quoi extends to the food. French cooking techniques are at the heart of Belgian chef Emmanuel Stroobant’s elegant dishes. Yet there are innovative nods to Asian cuisine too. Like the entree of almond-crusted, hand-dived scallop with spicy avocado cream and Thai coconut emulsion, or the roasted Atlantic lobster ravioli in lobster bisque with a touch of yuzu zest.

A beautifully presented dish of hamachi with ohba leaf, leek, ginger flower and shoyu.

It’s well-balanced fare – just enough, never too much. Consider the delightful crunch of the skin on the main of hibachi barbecued duck breast, coated in a lime-chilli glaze and accompanied by organic carrots. Or the hint of cloves in the oxtail consomme that anchors the steamed Atlantic cod – wrapped in a paper-thin veil of carrot and daikon. The pacing of the dishes is spot on. And the presentation? Exquisite. For instance, the herb-crusted artichoke, whose heart is hollowed out and stuffed with a mixture of pine nuts and marigold leaf; a turmeric emulsion is poured onto the plate as it is served.

The visual feast continues to the last course: an intricate chocolate sphere filled with chocolate mousse, vanilla cremeux, pear-passion fruit jelly and praline. And one cannot neglect the cheese trolley laden with 15 to 20 slabs of dairy-filled decadence, ranging from creamy brie and goat’s cheese to a 15-month-old gruyere. Consume your pick of cheeses with a glass of 1998 Niepoort Colheita. Now this is the very definition of joie de vivre.


SAINT PIERRE
#02-02B One Fullerton, S(049213)
T 6438-0887

The full list of Singapore’s Best at
G Restaurant Awards 2017.

All tastings conducted incognito with esteemed members of G’s Food Panel.